How State Attorneys General Offices Are Closing the Technology Gap and Why It Matters
Stephanie Caldwell has spent her career in two roles: 17 years as a civil litigator at the Nebraska Attorney General's office, followed by nearly four years training Attorney General offices nationwide as Senior Counsel at the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG).
That combination gives her a rare perspective. She's lived the challenges of the public sector – including budget constraints, staffing turnover, and red tape – and now helps AG offices navigate those obstacles while keeping pace with better-resourced opponents.
The gap between what the public sector needs and what it can access is real. But it's closing.
The Challenge: Doing More With Less
AG offices face unique constraints. Unlike private firms that can quickly purchase new platforms, government offices navigate procurement boards, budget cycles, and privacy regulations.
"Lawyers in the public sector are going to have more challenges," Caldwell explained. "We're dealing with things like budget constraints, staffing issues, and just limited availability to certain types of resources."
The workload hasn't shrunk. AG offices handle everything from consumer protection to multi-state litigation, often dealing with massive data sets spread across jurisdictions.
"We don't get to choose our cases that come to us in the public sector," Caldwell said. "We don't get to choose our facts. We don't get to choose our documents or our witnesses."
The question: How do you handle that volume with limited staff and budget? The answer: legal technology.
Why Technology Became Essential
For years, litigation platforms like Everlaw felt like nice-to-haves for government offices; things the private sector could afford but the public sector couldn't justify. That's changed.
"State attorney general offices are now realizing that these types of tools, things like generative AI or other technologies that are out there, are not so much a luxury anymore," Caldwell said. "They are really a necessity."
When staffing is limited and budgets are fixed, the only way to do more is to work faster and smarter. The discovery process, in particular, has been significantly transformed. Tasks that used to take weeks like processing large volumes of documents, reviewing for privilege and coding for relevance, can now be done in days.
"What used to take days, weeks, months, massive amounts of time can be so dramatically streamlined with the use of technologies that are out there," Caldwell noted.
But it's not just speed. It's quality. "This technology is out there, and it's not going to replace attorneys, but it's going to enhance them. It's going to make them better."
What Actually Matters When Adopting Tools
Through her work with AG offices, Caldwell has identified what matters when government offices evaluate new technology platforms.
Education. Many people hear "AI" and aren't sure what it means – or what it means to their work. Showing them specifically what the technology can do makes the difference. "What is vital and what is important is education, training, and information," Caldwell said.
Return on Investment. Government offices need to justify expenditures with specific value. "This product or this platform, this technology is going to save a certain amount of hours. You are now able to process 50,000 documents in a span of 24, 48 hours, versus what it would have taken in the past."
Security and Privacy. This is non-negotiable. AG offices handle citizen data, taxpayer records, confidential documents. "What's also important in the public sector is giving stakeholders that confidence," Caldwell said. "That confidence is important to let them know that whatever we're using, whatever tool it is, it's going to still ensure that we have privacy and security."
Real Impact: How Everlaw Changed the Workflow
Many AG offices, particularly in consumer protection divisions, now use Everlaw through their connection with NAAG. "A large majority of them use Everlaw, especially when it comes to their consumer protection cases because they have a connection with them through our organization, and we're able to provide them access," Caldwell explained.
The impact has been significant. Caldwell has heard from states that Everlaw has "completely changed the landscape of how they handle a case from beginning to end." Multi-state litigation can now be managed in cloud-based systems where teams collaborate in real time.
We have duties as well as attorneys to keep up to date with the latest trends and technologies. We're meeting that ethical obligation, but we're also meeting that public sector obligation that we have to the public in general to get these cases done.
"That's my favorite part of working in the legal profession and especially in the public sector, is that ability to collaborate," Caldwell said.
Specific features have proven particularly valuable. States have given "really good feedback about the generative AI features, some of the Deep Dive features" where attorneys can ask the platform questions about their case directly. Deposition summaries, which used to consume hours, can now be automated.
"To be able to use that document summary where we can have then a platform go in, summarize a deposition and provide that to our client, it's amazing and it's incredibly invaluable," Caldwell said.
Tools like Storybuilder help develop and prove out potential case theories, a concept NAAG trains on extensively. "What is your theory of the case? How are you going to sell it? How are you going to show the fact finder what the case is about?" Caldwell explained. Finding the key documents to tell that story becomes possible even when dealing with massive data sets.
Cloud migration has been another game-changer for preservation. Instead of emailing legal holds and hoping clients comply, attorneys now have direct access to cloud systems. "It's a much easier way for the teams to then come together, work through it, see what is all out there, and then process it."
The Stakes Are High and Personal
The work AG offices do matters. These are more than cases—they're investigations, prosecutions, and civil actions that affect real people.
"There are real individuals behind a lot of these cases that are waiting on outcomes," Caldwell said. "Individuals that might have been named in a lawsuit, individuals that are subject of an investigation. We want to ensure we can give them the best outcome."
That urgency is why technology adoption isn't optional. It's part of meeting ethical obligations and serving the public effectively.
"We have duties as well as attorneys to keep up to date with the latest trends and technologies," Caldwell noted. "We're meeting that ethical obligation, but we're also meeting that public sector obligation that we have to the public in general to get these cases done."
The gap is closing. AG offices are embracing tools like Everlaw that streamline their work, protect sensitive information, and free up attorneys to focus on strategy and storytelling rather than administrative drudgery. The ones leading that charge are proving that government legal work, done well, can set the standard.
